


George is a cat but it turns out he’s not a cat

by Aldrig



Category: Bob Dylan (Musician), The Beatles (Band), Traveling Wilburys
Genre: Cat, Cute, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Magic AU, Wholesome, dylarrison, if not for you, this is just the usual turned into a cat au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-19 07:50:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15505749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aldrig/pseuds/Aldrig
Summary: So he woke up as a cat. If this sounds like the start of a clichéd-but-enjoyable, turned-into-an-animal-for-no-reason magic AU, then it’s probably true.





	George is a cat but it turns out he’s not a cat

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bablevees](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bablevees/gifts).



So he woke up as a cat. If this sounds like the start of a clichéd-but-enjoyable, turned-into-an-animal-for-no-reason magic AU, then it’s probably true. 

He noticed it quite simply, he didn’t have to dramatically see his own distorted reflection in a mirror and scream hysterically, he just knew it, based on the fact he had to turn his head in an unnatural upward motion to see anything higher than just a few centimetres. It was quite easy to notice the furry paws in front of him as he stretched as well. The next thing he noticed was that it wasn’t as easy to climb out of his bed as it was normally. You might think that cats are used to jump crazy heights without a problem, but it’s something different when that cat has spent most of its life as a human and even though that human did jump around a lot on stage, it was nothing compared to this. It’ll take some learning, that’s for sure. 

At first it was… interesting, to say the least. He started noticing a lot of new things, in this foreign body. For example the guitar pick he lost few weeks ago? It was under the wooden cabinet in his room. Or what about the dead fly that lied right next to it? Amazing. Oh, and he also had better smell and hearing, of course.

***

That is how George started his journey. There was just one very, very important thing he forgot about, but how could anyone blame him. That very, very important thing turned out to be his friend. An idol, actually. But friend nevertheless. It was the Bob Dylan himself, who was staying at George’s house for a few days. As you might expect, the unexpected transformation wasn’t exactly what they planned to do when they met up. 

It started out as an entertaining day, actually. They played some tunes, sang some old Dylan songs, even some of George’s songs that he had been working on, and then had some fun laughing at unfunny jokes. It would be really weird if any of them would expect something like this happening, and they didn’t.

Unfortunately, hours passed and George still haven’t remembered his guest’s presence, he was too occupied with crawling around the house, finding out he can’t do much and settled on a warm spot in the garden, where he could lay and do nothing, hoping for the best. If he’s turned into a cat, he might just as well act like it and maybe he’ll turn back again.

***

When Bob woke up, he wasn’t a cat. Which was a good thing, but he wouldn’t know it should be a thing to be thankful for. So he went straight to the kitchen, feeling like at home, as that’s what has been ordered to him numerous times this week, and thought of making himself a cup of coffee. At this point, George’s absence wasn’t anything to worry about.  
Twenty minutes passed since he drunk his first beverage of the day and read through the first disappointing news in the paper, when he started to get curious about his friend. He went to his host’s bedroom to find the bed empty and messy. That alone still wasn’t anything that could tell him more and he just thought of George meditating somewhere in the house, probably, and went back to his own guest room to pick up his guitar and get the creative juices out of his system, while waiting for George’s return.

***

There was a soft sound of opening the back door that made George awaken from his slumber once again. He just felt too lazy to open his eyes and look at the source. Only the even softer sound of someone’s huff of laughter made him annoyed enough to look up. Of course, it was Bob! The guy he completely forgot about that is staying at his house. How unfortunate. Bob just sat down next to him, on that little rock that laid on the ground and started to actually pet him. He must have though George is a real cat that made its way into the garden. Now George wasn’t sure if Bob realized what he was doing.  
“Do you realize what you are doing?” he asked calmly, not wanting to surprise him. He reacted in an unexpected way, which was to keep petting him without batting an eye, the other hand clutching the neck of his acoustic guitar. George didn’t understand. And then he understood. Cats and humans can’t verbally communicate, it would seem. Who made these rules? He’s a magical cat, so it didn’t make any sense. Bob’s hand stopped though, finally.  
“Okay, I’ll let you go for a while now,” and as he said that, he swung the instrument he’s been holding onto his lap and strummed gently. The melody started developing into a familiar, regular rhythm. George could have sworn he heard this song before, it was surely one of Bob’s new creations, masterpieces even, as George thought of them often. 

_“If not for you_  
_Babe, I couldn't even find the door_  
_I couldn't even see the floor_  
_I'd be sad and blue, if not for you_

_If not for you_  
_Babe, the night would see me wide awake_  
_The day would surely have to break_  
_It would not be new, if not for you_  
...“ 

Until now, he haven’t heard this lyrics yet. And he had to admit, he liked them. To that extend that he’d like to sing it as well someday, in the future, perhaps, if Bob would allow him. They maybe could even sing it together. As Bob’s voice continued, George found himself humming, or purring, accordingly to the melody. He shouldn’t have done that, as that action made the other one stop playing.  
“Wait… this cannot be.” Bob tried at first, but the moment he looked at the cat that was still sitting next to him, he knew that this, in fact, can be. Thankfully, he was one of the people that just simply didn’t care much when strange things started happening around him.  
“George, it’s you, isn’t it?” he stated as calmly and unbothered as only Bob Dylan can. His speculation was confirmed by the look that the cat given him, which looked too similar to that of his dear friend to be a coincidence. The situation was too unrealistic to think about it too much, so he didn’t. 

***

In the following days, Bob had to make more free time than he anticipated for and cancel some of his plans, to stay with George and help him with his new lifestyle. They couldn’t communicate, well, Bob could, but George couldn’t answer him, though they found some ways to help George make his point across.  
Sometimes he’d get more cat-like and would knock off some glasses off the table, and sometimes he’d get a bit of his humanity back and almost sounded like he could talk in English again. It wasn’t too uncomfortable, to take care of him and open a few canned fish meals a day, but it started to get kind of lonely. Bob just missed his friend that he originally went to visit. They didn’t really see each other too often, what with their busy lives, and when they made the plans to spend a few days at George’s house in England, jamming and talking, they didn’t expect to not jam and talk after all.  
***  
They wouldn’t want to admit that since that morning in the garden they liked to be in each other’s presence as often as possible, in the hopes of the magical curse being lifted. So they sometimes sat on the living room’s sofa, George laying his now fluffy and small body on top of Bob’s lap. Since they didn’t have much to do now, Bob actually played and sung by himself a lot, entertaining the both of them, with occasional purrs accompanying his voice.  
The other day they just walked around outside, for example, and George tried to grow into his cat life by hunting down some of the insects that were ruining his plants. Naturally, this task wasn’t really natural to him. And so they knew this couldn’t go on without complications. For the time being, they let it be, though.

***

They even slept in the same bed, but it wasn’t weird, firstly because they were good friends of several years, and secondly because George was a cat and that’s just what cats do. 

The curse was finally lifted during one of nights like these. It was almost the same as when the transformation took its form for the first time, he just woke up and knew immediately what happened to him. It was around 2 o’clock in the morning though, so instead of waking Bob, he got up, got dressed in his old pyjama pants and shirt, and went to the kitchen. What he needed at that moment was a huge glass of cold water. He didn’t even finish the glass, when he heard someone behind him. Well, since there was no one else at the house, it was quite obvious who it was anyway.  
“Sorry for waking you up.” His voice felt weird after not using it in a week or so. There was no answer to his statement, only the sound of footsteps nearing. Since both of them didn’t bother to turn on the lights, they couldn’t even see each other. Just as he turned around though, the arms of his friend enveloped him in an embrace. While he was a cat, he got used to the other one being much bigger than himself, but now that he was in his own skin again, he had to notice he was in fact a bit taller. At this point it was too obvious what both of them felt, but they didn’t want to say it just yet.  
“I guess it turns out you’re not a cat after all.” Bob said with little sign of emotion, while continuing to hug George.  
“I guess so,” came the reply. Well, all was settled then, hopefully. It was too early to think of much else right now, so after a while they returned back to the bedroom and decided that they have to stay together, not wanting to risk the magic working against them again. 

***

After all, Bob had to leave eventually because he already spent too much time here. Say their goodbyes they did, and promised to meet again as soon as their responsibilities would allow them to. 

“Well, that was an interesting experience.” Bob said as he stood at the door, ready to leave with a suitcase and his guitar hung secure around his back.  
“Thanks for staying there through it all,” George replied and after few moments continued, “if not for you, babe, I couldn’t even find the door. Couldn’t even see the floor. Literally. My orientation was kind of screwed up at first.” They laughed at the stupid joke and the last thing that George would expect to happen was the soft peck on his cheek that followed shortly.  
“Please never become a cat again, okay?” he didn’t even had time to reply to that with some witty remark, because the other one was already halfway through the driveway of the house. Well, it was something to spend a week in an animal’s body, but it was something else entirely to be kissed by his friend and idol. The latter was definitely the stranger thing to happen. Hopefully, it wasn’t the last time.

_If not for you, my sky would fall_  
_Rain would gather, too_  
_Without your love I'd be nowhere at all_  
_I'd be lost, if not for you_

_If not for you_  
_The winter would hold no spring_  
_Couldn't hear a robin sing_  
_I just wouldn't have a clue, if not for you_

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, so this was my first real fanfiction ever, loosely ispired by the Three Cool Cats song on Beatles Anthology that George sings, but the only thing tying the song with this story is the word cat.
> 
> I can't thank my friend BohemianBeatle enough for supporting me and giving me the prompt to do this ♥ I love you.
> 
> To everyone else who might have read this, I hope you enjoyed my first creation atleast a little bit and be sure to watch Bob and George sing 'If not for you', it'll melt your heart, I promise.
> 
> ♥ [If not for you](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tctzUNMp5po) ♥


End file.
